The Craig County basketball teams will return from the holiday break with games against Covington this week, both on the road.
The boys will play at Covington on Wednesday, January 3, for their first game of the new year. The jayvees will start at 6 pm with the varsity to follow in Pioneer District action.
A day later, on January 4, the girls will be at Covington. Again, the jayvees will begin at 6 pm with the varsity to follow.
The girls are now 4-4 following a loss at Montcalm on December 21, their last game before the holiday break. Craig trailed 31-15 at the half and rallied to cut the lead to single digits in the second half before coming up short, 56-39.
“We didn’t play our best game,” said coach Randy Hale. “In the fourth quarter I played the girls that hadn’t played much and rested Taylor(Sloss). She twisted her ankle against Roanoke Catholic and really shouldn’t have played at all.”
Lacy Smith had a migraine headache and saw limited action, and Craig’s leading scorer, Tierrney Zysk, was held to a season-low six points. Sloss and Kaylee Pauley led the scoring with a dozen points each.
The Rockets had a game with Auburn originally scheduled for Thursday of last week but that game was postponed.
The boys were scheduled to host Rural Retreat last Saturday, but results were too late for early holiday deadlines. The Rockets were 0-6 prior to that game, and they also lost at Montcalm on December 21. The Rockets trailed by just two points at the half, 23-21, before losing 59-45.
“We had the lead down to seven in the fourth quarter but we went cold,” said coach Ryan Frazier. “We just couldn’t hit a shot down the stretch.”
Devin Hutchison had a breakout game for Craig with 15 points. Caleb Todd had 13 points and Noah Nichols chipped in with eight.
“They really hurt us on the boards,” said Frazier. “They had a lot of put-backs and those are back-breakers.”
The boys will be home on Friday, January 5, to host Bath County in a Pioneer District game.
